June 2025 – Two years ago, a person with a metal detector discovered two oval brooches, decorated with silver thread, and some ribs at a site on Senja Island in northern Norway. The brooches were consistent with a style dating back to 900 and 950 C.E., and archeologists believed that the jewelry was part of a new Viking grave site of an unknown woman. The findings were buried shallow enough that the researchers were concerned about the integrity of the site.
Just Beneath the Surface
The grave was less than eight inches (20 centimeters) from the surface. When the landowners decided to expand their garage, work began moving forward on the project.
“We were concerned about the condition of the grave and wanted to prevent further damage. It lies just beneath the surface, covered by only a thin layer of topsoil,” Anja Roth Niemi, researcher for the Arctic University Museum of Norway, told Science Norway.
In the Grave
The grave held more than just the brooches and ribs. The outline of a sewn boat is visible, even though the organic material has decomposed. The boat was a little less than 18 feet long (5.4 meters). The planks were not attached with iron rivets. Instead, the boat was sewn with organic material that has also decayed. Now, the vessel is a dark spot in the sand of the grave.
Researchers are still awaiting confirmation of the gender of the person buried with the ship, but they are confident that it is a woman. Men were not buried with brooches in the Viking era. The woman had a small dog placed at her feet. A ring-shaped pendant was near her skull.
“We believe the woman buried here held significant status locally, and perhaps even across the region,” Niemi said.
Viking Grave Site and Dog
Niemi said that a dog in a Viking grave site is not necessarily rare. It does show that Vikings shared a strong bond with their animals. An idea supported in their sagas.
“There are stories of prominent people doing everything in their power (to heal their animal) when their dog became ill,” said Niemi.
Brooches and Organic Material
While the original discoverer of the site dug a little deeper than the laws allow, they followed the correct procedures afterwards. By preserving the brooches and bones with the dirt around the artifacts, some organic material was saved, including textile fragments from the woman’s clothes.
More to Find
“There’s reason to believe there’s another grave there, possibly still undisturbed,” said Niemi. The excavators found another brooch not far from this first Viking grave site. “We’d really like to survey the area with ground-penetrating radar to see if there’s more to uncover.”
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